After 21 years, Port Arthur family slaying solved

Inmate confesses to killing a mother and daughter; DNA also links him to the crime

Associated Press

Published 6:30 am, Saturday, January 12, 2008

PORT ARTHUR — Police say they have solved the 21-year-old double slaying of a woman and her daughter, an announcement that has brought relief to the victims' family.

Police said Friday that Tommy Lee Stewart was responsible for the Sept. 11, 1986, double slaying of Myrtle Hudson and her daughter, Willette.

Police chief Mark Blanton said DNA evidence linked Stewart to the crimes. And Stewart, already serving a life sentence for a sexual assault conviction, confessed to the killings on Jan. 4 and told authorities where they could find Myrtle Hudson's body.

Stewart is being held at the Stiles Unit, a prison in Jefferson County. Authorities say he will not be prosecuted for the Hudson slayings, since he's already serving a life sentence.

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Some Hudson family members wore green T-shirts bearing pictures of Myrtle and Willette Hudson to a news conference where police released their findings.

"I feel great," said Willie Hudson, who was once a suspect in the deaths of his wife and daughter. "Words can't even express. I'm at peace."

The three remaining Hudson children — Willie Jr., 38; Isha, 30, and Meagan, 21 — also attended the news conference, along with more than 20 relatives.

"That day changed my life," said a tearful Willie Hudson Jr., who discovered his 18-year-old sister's body hog-tied in the attic. He was 17 at the time.

"I haven't been able to take a step forward, until now," he said.

Myrtle Hudson's body has not yet been found, but Police chief Mark Blanton said that last month Stewart led them to an area where he recalled leaving her on Pleasure Island.

Stewart had a violent history long before the killings. On Oct. 21, 1971, in Waco, he was charged in the death of Jean Carolyn Matthews, whose home he was accused of burglarizing before he abducted and killed her. He was released from prison on June 6, 1986, and moved in with a Port Arthur woman he'd met while incarcerated.

The woman's brother, James Brown, lived next door to the Hudsons, and said Stewart was often at his house.

Attack on girl sent Stewart to prison

On Nov. 6, less than two months after the Hudson slayings, Stewart was arrested in the sexual assault of a girl left for dead on Pleasure Island. The girl had been hog-tied and struck in the head, but she survived and identified Stewart as the assailant. Stewart has been behind bars since November 1986.

The Hudson slayings, meanwhile, remained unsolved. In 2000, the case was assigned to Detective Ron Robertson and Detective Rodney Harrison for review. DNA samples taken from Willette Hudson's clothes linked Stewart to the slayings.

"The family can move forward with unity," Isha Hudson said.

The Hudsons said they've forgiven Stewart, though they're still wondering about his motive for the killings.